In an announcement released this morning, Rigtside said its Board of Directors has rejected the unsolicited proposal from Donuts Inc. to acquire Rightside's entire registry of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and related assets for $70 million in an all-cash deal. more
"Verisign to get .com for six more years, but prices to stay frozen," Kevin Murphy reporting in Domain Incite: "ICANN and Verisign have agreed to extend their .com registry contract for another six years, but there are no big changes in store for .com owners." more
This move will allow the company to separate its call routing services for telecom carriers from its marketing and security related services. Additionally the company has indicated that the latter unit, that is marketing, security, and data services, will be rebranded. more
Patrik Wallström writes to report that as of today, IIS (The Internet Foundation In Sweden) has made the zone files for .se and .nu domain names publicly available for the first time. "The underlying reason for making the zone files for .se and .nu available is our endeavour at IIS to promote transparency and openness. IIS has made the assessment that the zone files do not contain any confidential information and, therefore, there is no reason not to make this information available." more
In a post today, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the not-for-profit operator of the .org, .ngo and .ong domains, has announced a Request for Information for the management of its back-end registry services. Afilias which has been the technical provider for PIR since it was established by ISOC following the successful ISOC/Afilias strategic partnership in the bid for .ORG in 2002, says it has been expecting an RFP since the last contract was signed and that it remains committed to its continued work with the organization. more
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released a letter today stating "companies and organizations that run the Internet's domain name system shouldn't be in the business of policing the contents of websites, or enforcing laws that can impinge on free speech. more
GMO Registry, Inc, a Japanese domain name registry business, has won the rights to a single new top-level domain, .shop, for $41.5 million. more
Neustar announces that it has acquired Bombora Technologies Pty Ltd (Bombora), based in Australia, for AUD $118.5 million, or approximately USD $86.9 million. Bombora and its subsidiaries, which include ARI Registry Services, provide registry services for a number of top-level domains (TLDs) including .au, .melbourne, .sydney, and over 100 new TLDs, including several in the Fortune 500. more
ICANN says that, "the lack of ccTLD growth in africa is due to Internet penetration". However, Gideon Rop of DotConnectAfrica and an Internet Governance expert in the African landscape, expressed a different opinion during the Africa DNS forum in Nairobi. more
Kieren McCarthy reporting in The Register writes: "The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has responded to questions over the legality of .sucks domain pricing with a three-page "I told you so" letter to domain name overseer ICANN. more
Trevor Little reporting in the World Trademark Review writes: "The Chinese government has announced that registries and registrars will have to meet a number of conditions and obtain the approval of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) before being allowed to engage in commercial and operational activities in China." more
Kevin Murphy reporting in DomainIncite: "ICANN's Business Constituency wants US and Canadian regulators to intervene to prevent Vox Populi Registry, which runs .sucks, 'extorting' businesses with its high sunrise fees. The BC wrote to ICANN, the US Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Office for Consumer Affairs on Friday, saying .sucks has employed 'exploitive [sic] pricing and unfair marketing practices'." more
Jointly published by the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2C) and the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group, the new document outlines proven activities that can help Web hosting services improve their operations and better protect end-users. more
Afilias, headquartered in Dublin, is set to float on AIM with new shares issued by the company expected to raise approximately $100m. Hal Lubsen, Chief Executive Officer of Afilias says: "Today's announcement is an important step in the next phase of our growth, as we look to be a key player in the new programme of TLDs, and make selective acquisitions to increase the breadth and depth of our services and reach." more
European TLD registry, EURid has announced that it is the first TLD Registry in Europe to be registered by the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). "EURid has taken an environmentally responsible approach to operating .eu for many years. Our environmental policy is based on the principle of 'reduce, reuse and recycle' and provides a framework for making sustainable choices." more
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